Ringless piston



w. KLATZKE RINGLESS PISTON Filed June 30, 1923 BY if I ATTORNEY.

Patented eb. 3, 1925.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM KLATZKE, OF DETROIT, MIQHIGAN.

RINGLESS PISTON.

Application filed June 30, 1923. Serial No. 648,772.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it-known that I, lVILLIAM KLA'rzKE, a citizen of the United States,and residing at Detroit, county of WVayne, and State of Michigan, haveinvented a new and Improved Ringless Piston, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to pistons for internal combustion. engines, andhas for its primary object the provision of a one-piece piston operablewithout the use of piston rings or other separable packing to closelypress against the cylinder wall and prevent the leakage of thecombustible gas around 16 the piston during the operation of the/engine.I

Another object of the invention is the construction of an integralpiston of substantially barrel shape wit-h a solid reinforced 20 headportion of slightly lesser diameter than the cylinder and a slotted bodyportion arranged with its waist of a diameter greater than the cylinderand then gradually tapering to its foot, which is: of slightly lesserdiameter than the cylinder.

A further object of the invention is the arrangement of a simple, lightand easily formed piston which may be cast of any desired metal or alloyand quickly machined and slotted to snugly fit within the cylinder,

- the slots being arranged to permit auto matic adjustment of the pistonunder varying temperature conditions.

The above and otherobjects will be apparent from the followingdescription wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawingsillustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, and whereinsimilar reference numerals designate simi- 40 lar parts throughout theseveral views.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a perspective View of my improved piston.

' Fig. 2 is a central horizontal section through the connection with thewrist pin of the connecting rod, and

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section taken substantially on the line 33of Fig. 2 but with the wrist pin and connecting rod removed.

In the drawings, numeral 5 designates the head portion of the pistonwhich, best shown in Fig. 3, is ofasubstantial thickness and reinforcedwith ribs 6, herein shown as projecting radially from a central hub 7arranged below the centering notch 8 wherefrom the piston is machined.The outer diaineter of the piston gradually tapers from the head portion5 to the waist 9 which is preferably of a diameter-.004 to .005 greaterthan the diameter of the cylinder wall. The waist portion J is arrangedsubstantially centrally of the longitudinal axis of the piston. Fromsuch waist the piston tapers in both directions, the head portion andfoot portion 10 being both of substantially .002 smaller than the boreof the cylinder. m

The piston is preferably cast in one-piece from grey iron or the like,though any desired metal or alloy can be used. It is not necessaryhowever that tempered steel or the like he usedfor resiliency, as theshape of the piston coupledwith the arrangement of slots presently to bedescribed give to practically all metals adapted for use as pistons asufficient resiliency. The body ortion of the piston is slottedlongitudinally with a plurality of spaced slots 11- open at 'the footportion 10 and extending to the ribbed portion of the head 5. (See Fig.3.) The portion of the slots 11 below the waist of the piston is widerthan that above the waist by .001 or .002 inch. The portions betweenadjacent slots 11 are adapted to move toward and away from each otherwhen the piston is inserted into the cylinder bore, the enlarged waistportion 9 engaging the cylinder wall and forcing the movable footportions inwardly until the piston snugly fits within the cylinder. Thesolid head portion 5 is accordingly backed by a resilient body portionwith its center engaging the cylinder wall and gralually taperingtherefrom to the foot portion which is clear of the cylinder. Thepiston. thus rides with its center or waist portion 9 in contact withthe cylinder wall and is under tension suflicient to maintain thisengagement at all times, whether the cylinder is cold or heated. One ormore circumferential grooves 12 may be provided in the periphery of thepiston adj acent the waist portion 9 to collect oil and aid in formingthe oil-seal during the operation of the engine. Excess oil'may escapetothe interior of the piston through holes 13.

The piston is secured to the connecting rod 14 by means that permit theexpansion and contraction of the piston relatively to the connectingrod. In the illustrated embodiment I have provided a pair of bosses 15integrally formed with the piston and adapted to receive the wrist pin16, which is of slightly lesser diameter than the bore of the bosses.One extremity of the wrist pin is securely fastened to one of the bossesby means of the stud 17 or the like, While the opposite end of the wristpin is free, permitting movement of the piston walls relatively theretoduring the expansion and contraction. A bearing 18 carried by theconnecting rod 14 surrounds the central portion of the wrist pin in theusual manner.

mlile it will be apparent that the illustrated embodiments of myinvention herein disclosed are well calculated to adequately fulfill theobject and advantages primarily stated, it is to be understood that theinven-- tion is susceptible to variation, modification and change withinthe spirit and scope of the subjoined claim.

v claim Having described my invention, ll

Ell) A piston formed integrally with head and foot portions of lesserdiameter than the cylinder bore and a central waist portion of greaterdiameter than the cylinder bore and having a circumferential oilreceiving groove in its periphe the waist and foot portions being provied with a plurality of spaced slots extending longitudinally of thepiston and open at their lower ends. h I15i Witness whereof I hereuntoset my W an I WILLIAM KLATZKEY.

lVitnesses:

Mrs. PHEBE B. FISCHER, GEORGE HERTEL.

